Sea turtle nesting is a common sight along Topsail Island and Bogue Banks each year and their beaches are among those being identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as important to the recovery of the threatened Northwest Atlantic population of loggerhead sea turtles.

The proposed critical habitat areas include 90 nesting beaches in coastal counties located in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.

The agency recently announced the proposed rule, which was published in the federal register March 25, and is accepting public input through May 24.

The 740 miles of shoreline preliminarily identified by the agency as critical habitat account for approximately 84 percent of the documented number of nests in the six states.

In North Carolina the agency is proposing to designate eight units of beach shoreline, a total of 96.1 miles stretching from Carteret County south to Brunswick County.

Three of the units are located in the local area: Bogue Banks in Carteret County; Bear Island, a part of Hammocks Beach State Park in Onslow County; and Topsail Island in Onslow and Pender counties.

The other units are in New Hanover of Brunswick counties.

The areas identified are considered critically important nesting sites with the highest concentration of nests.

Nests counts from 2006 to 2011 were used to calculate density for each beach and those beaches selected were within the top 25 percent for nesting density.

Cape Lookout National Seashore and Cape Hatteras National Seashore were considered but did not meet the criteria, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Under the ESA, the sea turtles and their habitat within the national seashores are protected regardless of the designation.

The loggerhead sea turtles that nest along North Carolina’s beaches are already protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Fish and Wildlife officials consider the impact on individuals’ beach use or access to be “negligible.” Instead, they explain, the critical habitat designation helps to focus conservation efforts on those areas most important to the recovery of the sea turtles.

“We want to make sure action is compatible with the needs of the loggerhead,” said Lilibeth Serrano, a public affairs specialist with the Fish and Wildlife Service.

In the case of federal funding or permitting, the designation could apply to projects from docks to beach nourishment.

The Endangered Species Act continues to protect the threatened sea turtle regardless of where they nest. The critical habitat designation reinforces that protection by identifying geographic areas that contain features essential to conservation of the species.

“It kind of raises the bar for the habitat,” Serrano said. “The critical habitat areas are considered vital for sustaining the population.”

Critical habitat designation does not establish a refuge, reserve or other conservation area.

Written comments on the proposal can be submitted online by going to the Federal Rulemaking Portal at regulations.gov. Refer to Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2012-0103.